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Browse news articles about J-PAL and our affiliated professors, and read our press releases and monthly global and research newsletters. For media inquiries, please email us.

Providing Credit Information to Borrowers to Improve Repayment in Guatemala

Researchers ran a large randomized credit information training program that described the existence and workings of the bureau to the clients of this lender. The results indicate that the credit bureau generated large efficiency gains for the lender, and that these gains were augmented when...

Secured Transaction Reform to Increase Access to Capital for Small and Medium Enterprises in Colombia

Entrepreneurs in developing countries face a number of barriers to expanding their businesses and employing more workers, including limited access to credit and other financial services. In Colombia, researchers are investigating whether a regulatory reform that allows small and medium enterprises...

Countering Covid-19 Misinformation through WhatsApp in Zimbabwe

In this randomized evaluation in Zimbabwe, researchers studied how social media messages targeting misinformation can affect people’s beliefs about and responses toward Covid-19. The study found that these messages increased participants’ knowledge of Covid-19 information by 7 percentage points and...

The Impact of Personalized Information on Informed School Choice in Chile

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of an information program on parental school choice and long-term student achievement. They found that the intervention shifted household school choices of those who were not enrolled before the intervention toward establishments...

Providing Foodstuffs and Cash Loans to Improve Smallholder Farming in Zambia

In Zambia, researchers examined the impact of access to seasonal credit on farming households’ consumption, labor allocation, and agricultural output. The results suggest that access to food and cash loans during the lean season increased agricultural output and consumption, decreased off-farm labor...

Improving Women’s Labor and Welfare Outcomes through Microfinance in Uganda

Researchers in rural Western Uganda tested whether a microfinance program can help women borrowers switch out of subsistence agriculture to other labor activities, such as entrepreneurship or small-scale trading. While microloans helped women switch into service-based jobs including small-scale...